We All Want to Change the World
by Evil Kittens Unite
Summary: Complete -Alternate Ending- Near, and indeed the whole investigation team, discover that when life gives you lemons, it doesn't hand them to you nicely - it flings them at your head.
1. In Which We Start

"Near, it's my win,"said the sandy-haired young man.

For one terrible moment ( not that he would ever admit it) Near felt fear. He knew logically that he had won, that Kira was defeated. Still, he had to stop himself from clutching the left side of his chest.

_Lup-Dup_

His heart was still beating and...

_Lup-Dup_

No one fell down dead.

"We didn't die". Matsuda's surprised voice filled the warehouse. Near inwardly sighed. (With that kind of deductive ability it was amazing that Kira hadn't been caught _ages_ ago).

"That's why I have said repeatedly that no one would die."

Near eyed the crazed man in the corner who was constrained by Lester and Giovanni. He opened his hand. "The notebook."

Giovanni took the Death Note and handed it to Near. It (and Near hated to be cliché, but conceded that it was a special occasion) was the moment of truth.

Except that it couldn't be.

As in impossible.

(As in : What the_ hell_?!).

The last piece of the puzzle didn't fit. Near struggled to find his voice. " And the only one whose name isn't written down is..."


	2. One Way Ticket

"Aizawa."

Near's straggled voice filled the warehouse. The look on his face was neutral.

Blank.

But Light knew that behind that calm exterior Near was furious. Light schooled his own expression so that it matched that of his comrades. It was a look of shock, pain, betrayal. It was one of the best days of Light's life.

Aizawa's scream echoed in his ears.

It was the sound of victory.

...

He didn't even realize that he was screaming. As far as Aizawa was concerned the scream came from a disembodied voice. It was as if a phantom had taken control of his body.

Because he wasn't here and this wasn't happening.

"Please," he pleaded, unsure of what he was asking for. "I was framed."

It was a weak protest, he knew that.

"How could you?" Asked Matsuda, who had collapsed to his knees with his head hanging limply.

"I didn't. It was Light, Light is Kira." Aizawa shrieked these words while pointing at the young man.

"It's over Aizawa," said Light. " You've been trying to implicates me as Kira for long enough: now your deceit is finished."

Again Aizawa heard the voice. It was an inhuman scream. The call of some wild animal. He watched in horror as his body lunged forwards at Light. His clawing hands were desperately trying to inflict damage.

"Stop him," someone called.

_Yes stop me_, Aizawa thought just as the bullet entered his chest and the world turned black.

...

Ryuuk was laughing.


	3. Puzzle Panic

Matsuda felt the heat from the gun. It burned his hand. It was if his whole body was on fire. He wasn't really thinking of that though.

Aizawa was on the floor bleeding from his chest.

For the first time Matsuda realized just how stupid he could be. He finally understood all those glaring looks from L and Chief Yagami. He regretted shooting Aizawa, but Kira was dead and Light was safe.

But Aizawa was on the floor bleeding from his chest. He had killed someone.

The burning increased.

...

In the forty seconds that this had been occurring Near had been thinking (not that this was anything strange- Near was _always_ thinking).

"I was wrong," he whispered these words to himself. He had meant to prove that Yagami Light was Kira, instead he had proved that Light was innocent. Aizawa was dying (or most likely already dead) and whether he was Kira or not, justice- true justice- would not be delivered.

Near did something unheard of. He scowled.

( Matsuda was in _so_ much trouble.)

...

" Kami," Mikami cried and jerked wildly. His captors tightened their grip on his arms. It hurt, and this was only the beginning of his suffering. But this was for God and ultimately God was good.

" Kami," he yelled again. " Don't die. Please don't die. The world needs you."

He flung himself forwards ripping himself from those who dared restrain him. He raced towards Aizawa's body and, aware that everyone was watching him, Mikami knelt by the corpse. Tentatively, he touched Aizawa's forehead as if it were some valuable possession. He was crying now. He clutched the vial on his necklace, and raised it to his lips.

...

Ryuuk was now clutching his sides.

...

Giovanni watched as Mikami brought the charm to his mouth. It was a strange gesture- granted the man was a sociopathic manic who was prone to doing strange things.

Like murdering thousands of people.

But there was something unsettling about the whole thing. Mikami closed his eyes and his features softened. He slumped gracelessly onto Aizawa'a body.

"Poison," said Near. "He didn't want to live in a world without Kira."

Near stood and walked to the door of the warehouse. "The Japanese Police will he here soon." With that he left the building.

Exalted, Giovanni followed.

...

The following hours passed in a fury of activity: statements were given, bodies were examined, and Light was declared innocent of all charges.

This amused Ryuuk greatly.

He wasn't quite sure how Light had managed it, but that was half the entertainment value. It was like an apple- he loved apples- but he didn't want to know how they worked. As long as they were juicy nothing else concerned him.

...

"Cheer up now."

"Telling me to cheer up implies that I'm not in a good mood."

"There's no shame in being wrong. You accomplished your goal, Kira will not kill again."

Near considered this as he knotted his fingers through his hair. Logically (again that _damned_ logic) he knew that the Kira case was closed. Both the notebook he had obtained from Mikami and the one recovered from Aizawa's body were secured and scheduled to be destroyed.

Still, after seeing the entire picture, after piercing together all the parts of the puzzle to build a complete image...

Near realized that he didn't accept what he saw, but reality is reality no matter how imperfect and twisted.

...

And for a long time no one died.

Okay people_ died_- Light just wasn't the one killing them though. Sometimes Ryuuk's hand would itch when he thought about it. He would imagine raising his hand and writing down a name, any name. Yagami Light, for instance- if only to relieve boredom for a few seconds.

But Light promised excitement-he had a plan- and Ryuuk and no reason to think that Light was a liar.


	4. And This is What had Happened

_It was night._

_He was walking down the street with his hands in his pockets. His breath puffed out and condensed before him._

_Like my soul is trying to escape, Light thought to himself warily. Because, of course, there was no room for souls in his philosophy._

_Ironic that he had stolen so many._

...

It was the day before the Revelation had taken place. He was in his room working on the Kira case like he had been for the last six years. Before that too, of course.

He paused typing for a moment. He wouldn't miss it, the deception.

"After all," Light said to himself, trying to fill the silence left by Misa's absence. "I'll have plenty of work to do."

He ran through the plan one more time. It was flawless. Light shut down his computer and laid down on his bed. He closed his eyes at an attempt at sleep. This was at 12:00 am.

At one, Light turned over on his side and kicked the suffocating blanket from his body. Calm down, he told himself.

By three thirty he realized that he wouldn't be able to sleep. He stood up and stretched, his fingertips brushing the ceiling. Light then made his way into the kitchen. The light was on-he must have forgotten to turn it off- giving the room a surreal glow. For a moment Light felt disconnected from his body. He was an observer.

"Hello Light-kun."

He snapped back inside his head and whipped his body around to the sound of the voice. A voice that he hadn't heard in years.

There was no one there.

Light felt a laugh building in his chest and escape from his lips. It sounded unnatural even to him. After a few moments of silence Light took a deep breath and poured himself a glass of milk, ignoring how the carton shook in his hand.

_I am calm._

Light returned to his bedroom.

...

_The wind stung his face. It was a good thing he was almost home._

...

The first thing that Light noticed as he entered the room was the smell of dirt and rotting. Light covered his nose with his hand. He walked to the window and opened it. A cool breeze blew over his fingers causing his hair to stand on end.

"Calm down." These words caused Light to look over his shoulder.

There sitting on a swivel chair was Ryuuzaki,_ L_. He was hunched over tapping away at the keyboard. The computer was still off though.

Light turned his body around to face the phantom his mind had created, because surely that was what it was.

Never mind the Death God, and the apples and the murder by notebook.

"Ryuuzaki, what are you doing here?"

"Why Light-kun isn't it obvious?" The specter replied. "I am the physical manifestation of your guilt."

Light shook his head in disbelief and the ghost of L smiled at him slightly. A wry sarcastic smile.

" Indeed I was only joking."

Because as surely as Light was Kira- and he was-they both knew that if he was guilty he sure as hell didn't feel it.

"I'm here to solve the Kira case once and for all."

"You don't trust Near to do it then?"

L shifted his body towards Light. Their gazes locked. L spoke softly. "He is not ready. You have an unfair advantage."

" And what is that?"

"You're ruthless."

Light felt the corners of his mouth rise. It has been a long time since someone had been so blunt towards him. Light discovered that he missed that. A little bit anyway.

"Well tomorrow night you and Near can have a nice long chat of just how ruthless I can be." Light paused, then burst out, " I am God Ryuuzaki. Why can't you understand that? You'd still be alive if you had."

L brought his thumb to his mouth and looked like he was considering Light's statement. A few minutes passed in silence. Finally, L stood up and took steps closer and closer to Light until he was less then a foot away. The ghost, or hallucination, or whatever it was, raised a hand and gentley touched Light's cheek.It was surprisingly warm and solid.

Like he wasn't even dead at all.

"Because, Light-kun, I ,unlike you, would never fall for a fake."

And with that Light woke up.

...

_Fake_

The word rung in his head.

He wouldn't fall for a fake, Light thought. Suddenly he felt uneasy.

"What if?" He asked himself quietly, calculating the percentages in his head. There was a less then five percent probability. It was small and insignificant.

But it was there.

And with that he reached for the phone.

...

That had been nearly eight years ago.

...

_Light turned the doorknob. Finally he was home._


	5. Round and Round it Goes

Ryuuk was watching television when Light came home. This had been a new discovery for him. In the early days when he had first come to the human realm, the only thing he had watched was the news;which he admitted had been interesting at first, before it had become all Kira this, L that.

_Boring_ in other words.

Ryuuk now indulged himself in his new passion- soap operas- where the twisted workings of the human mind had really come into fruition...

Light came over and turned the tv off. "Hey, I was watching that."

Light glared at him. " Not now Ryuuk, we have much to accomplish tonight."

Ryuuk perked up and asked hopefully, "Do you mean?" Light nodded once.

...

Light ran his hand over the black cover of the notebook. The feel of it gave him a sense of purpose that he hadn't felt in years. He opened the cover and flipped to his last entry_: Shuichi Aizawa, gunshot wound._

Light rose his arm and pressed the tip of his pen into the notebook.

...

It had been so easy to frame Aizawa. After he had been declared dead and his guilt proven beyond a reasonable doubt, everything that he had ever done made it obvious to the investigation team that Aizawa had been Kira all along.

Why else would he go out of his way to prove that Light was Kira? Who else had such access to the Death Note? Who was the only one to leave the investigation team only to return when they had retrieved the notebook?

There was no one. That was why Light chose him.

Aizawa had been convicted before his body had hit the ground.

...

_"Do you understand?" Light had asked into the receiver. "Write down every name you see except the one I told you."_

_" Yes Kami."_

_I'm counting on you, Light thought, but only for a second.  
_

...

_Light had no notebook. He needed to fix that. He looked at the clock; it was 4:00 am. At seven the investigation team would return to headquarters. He had three hours to replace the Death Note with another fake._

_He has prepared himself for this, however. The team trusted him- a few words, a bit of trickery and deceit- he had their codes to get in. Aizawa though- that was where his plans always fell apart. But Aizawa was predictable and Light was a genius. He would have to be; after all if he wanted his dream of a perfect world to come true he would have to survive tomorrow._

...

Light remembered how he felt when he discovered the Death Note had been replaced with another fake. He supposed it must have been the same way L felt as he lay on the floor dying: knowing who your enemy was, but unable to stop him.

Still, Light relished in the memory. Getting the Death Note from vault had been some of his best work- and he's usual work often surpassed brilliance anyway (or so he liked to believe).

Now after years of waiting it was finally time to show L just how ruthless he could be. Light pictured the face. It was probably older, but somehow Light didn't think it would matter. He moved his hand up and down the page and started forming letters. perfectly, one by one. It was a celebration after all.

...

_Lup-dup_

_Lup-dup_

_Lu..._

...

_Nate Rivers_

...

Ryuuk watched as Light put down the pen and lifted a hand to touch his own cheek. Ryuuk bit into his apple. It tasted better than it had in years.

.

.

.

_**Fin**_

A/N: And that concludes the story. Thanks to romulus-girl, Wolfenhawk, JediMasterWithAPen, and judikickshiney for reviewing. I don't know if it was the type of story you guys were expecting, but to be fair it wasn't the story I thought I was going to write. (Don't you hate it when that happens?)

And honestly, I knew think Light wouldn't win in the end- I was hoping though.

P.S When committing a crime always blame it on the guy no one suspects.

P.P.S I do not advocate committing any crimes.

By the way I do not own Death Note. (In all my stories the bad guy always wins.) And confession time, this was actually suppose to be a long one-shot, not five chapters. Go figure.


End file.
